1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a bone plastic cap device for meat positioned within an outer vacuum sealed bag and, more particularly, it relates to a bone plastic cap device for meat which is positioned over exposed bone portions cushioning and inhibiting the exposed bone portions from piercing the outer vacuum sealed bag and which the bone plastic cap device also maintains its position over the exposed bone portions within the outer vacuum sealed bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large cuts of meat are often processed for sale to a butcher rather than to the ultimate retail consumer. The local butcher then re-cuts the meat for display and resale to the purchasing public. In the modern-day processing of freshly killed meat, problems occur during the packaging process where vacuum sealing of the meat in an outer bag for shipping is employed.
During the butchering process, portions of exposed bone typically protrude from various places in the meat cut and may pierce the vacuum sealed outer bag producing a so-called "leaker". Since these various types of meat cuts can be quite large and can vary in shape and in the cut of meat, the problem of preserving the meat cut in an vacuum sealed outer shipping bag manifests itself whenever an exposed bone portion tears the vacuum sealed outer bag. The destruction of the vacuum seal caused by the exposed bone pieces permits entry and rapid growth of bacteria in the package, thus reducing the shelf life of the meat. The visible evidence of the bacteria growth is very apparent and can destroy the fresh appearance of the package of meat.
In order to overcome the serious bone puncture problem, the prior art solutions have attempted using separate cushions over the exposed bone portions with a cloth material impregnated with wax or other soft pliable materials thereby accomplishing a protective padding. Other cushions also have been tried using flat sheets of plastic material over the exposed bone portion. Both of the above prior art solution attempts have a distinct disadvantage of being labor intensive in application. Furthermore, the beeswax coated cushions did not permit a clear viewing of the meat underneath the padding since the beeswax coated cushions are not transparent. Additionally, separate small cushions were labor intensive to apply and difficult to keep in place over the exposed bone portions during insertion into the outer vacuum sealed bag.
For a more detailed discussion of the problems using prior art cushion devices, reference should be made to the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,822, issued on Jun. 14, 1977, U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,533, issued on Aug. 13, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,21 1, issued on Nov. 17, 1992, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a bone plastic cap device for covering exposed bone portions of meat which inhibits bone piercing or punctures of the outer vacuum sealed bag. Additionally, a need exists for a bone plastic cap device for covering exposed bone portions of meat which maintains its relative position over the exposed bone portions of the meat during insertion into the outer vacuum sealed bag and during shipment of the meat. Furthermore, there exists a need for a bone plastic cap device for covering exposed bone portions of meat which expands to simultaneously cover at least two oppositely situated exposed bone portions of the meat and is maintained in relative position over the exposed bone portions.